Institute of Geographical Sciences

Department of Anthropogeography

PhD Candidate

2014-2015 MSc in Migration, Mobility, and Development at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London

2012-2013: Exchange year at the Institut Francais du Proche Orient in Beirut

2010-2013: Bachelor in Political Sciences and Middle Eastern Studies at Sciences Po Paris in Menton

Professional experiences

2016: Councelor on labour rights for refugees and migrants in Brandenburg. Center for Migration and Decent Work Brandenburg. Arbeit und Leben (DGB/VHS) in Potsdam

Internships with the research department of the Expert council of German Foundations for Migration and Integration in Berlin (SVR), with the Delegation of the European Union in Lebanon, with the Heinrich Böll Foundation in Beirut, with the Ministry for Moroccans Residing Abroad and Migration Affairs in Rabat, and with the Democratic Association of Moroccan Women in Rabat

Research interests

Forced and labour migration in the context of neoliberal globalization

The intersection of migration and labour on globalizing labour markets

Transformations of labour regimes, working conditions, and labour movements

Regulation theories

Refugees and migrant workers in and from the Middle East and North Africa

PhD topic

The research is concerned with Germany's current refugee policies in view of changing labour market needs in the transition to a post-fordist economy. Entitled 'Capitalizing on Syrian refugees: Germany's refugee policies in light of labour market and welfare state transformations', it focuses on the integration of Syrian refugees on the labour market. Seen as expressive of broader neoliberal transformations of the labour market, the policies targeting refugees will be analyzed employing theories of labour regulation. These theories explore current tendencies in the way, in which states intervene in the regulation of labour, for instance by increasingly activating and flexibilizing the workforce. Using an interdisciplinary approach combining theories from human geography and political economy, the research aims at elaborating to what extent migration is an important aspect in the regulation of globalizing labour markets. The complex intersection of migration and labour regimes will be researched in the case of Syrian refugees on the German labour market based on extensive qualitative field research. Particular interest will be paid to the innovative strategies employed by labour market institutions in order to respond to the requirements of an increasingly specialized and heterogeneous labour market in knowledge- and service-oriented economies. This way the research seeks to show how refugee policies can function as a mean for labour regulation in the context of neoliberal globalization.